NC is a top 5 best state for renters in the nation, study shows. Here's how it compares.

North Carolina is among the top five states for renters, according to a study by ConsumerAffairs.

President Joe Biden recently announced a plan to lower housing costs, and the Federal Trade Commission has begun working against rental price-fixing. Housing issues in the U.S., however, won't go away overnight.

John Bartlett, executive director for the Metropolitan Tenants Organization in Chicago, spoke about the issue to ConsumerAffairs.

“The rental market is not good for any renter because people are paying too much for rent in most places. If you’re making minimum wage, you can’t really afford to live in any state,” Bartlett said.

ConsumerAffairs created its list of top 10 states for affordable renting based on these issues. Researchers compared each state on cost, availability and tenant security to rank the best and worst states for renters in 2024.

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Is it expensive to live in NC?

The ConsumerAffairs study placed N.C. at fifth in the nation for best states for renters based on percentages of household income going toward rent, costs of living, rent prices, percentage of units built after 2000, likelihood of having tenant-friendly eviction laws and rental availability.

In particular, ConsumerAffairs mentioned the median rent in the state for a two-bedroom home of $1,026, $160 per month average rental insurance premium, unemployment rate of 3.8% and 36.5% renter-occupied units built after 2000.

RentCafe reported that, based on the Council for Community and Economic Research Cost of Living Index, the overall cost of living in N.C. is 5% lower than the national average.

Here's their full list of comparisons for NC versus national averages:

• Housing - 14% lower

• Monthly utilities - 2% lower

• Food - 0%

• Health care - 6% higher

• Transportation - 5% lower

• Goods & Services - 1% lower

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Is Asheville, NC, an expensive place to live?

While RentCafe and the CCER Cost of Living Index placed N.C.'s cost of living at 5% lower than the national average, many Asheville residents may be all too aware that the city can be a lot more expensive than other areas of N.C.

RentCafe's info on Asheville shows that, while the city's cost of living is still 2% lower than the national average, it is 3% higher than the state average.

Here's its full list of comparisons for Asheville versus state and national averages:

• Housing: 11% higher than N.C. average, 5% lower than national average.

• Monthly utilities: 10% higher than N.C. average, 7% higher than national average.

• Food: 2% lower than N.C. average, 2% lower than national average.

• Health care: 4% higher than N.C. average, 10% higher than national average.

• Transportation: 3% lower than N.C. average, 8% lower than national average.

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What are the best states for renters?

Here's the full list from ConsumerAffairs:

1. North Dakota

2. South Dakota

3. Iowa

4. Oregon

5. North Carolina

6. Wyoming

7. Idaho

8. Minnesota

9. Wisconsin

10. Washington, D.C.

More: Supreme Court takes up homelessness as record numbers of Americans lack permanent housing

What are the worst states for renters?

Here's the bottom 10 list from ConsumerAffairs:

1. Connecticut

2. Hawaii

3. Rhode Island

4. Massachusetts

5. California

6. Vermont

7. New York

8. Florida

9. Mississippi

10. Michigan

Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Best states for renters: NC is top 5 in the country